Sweeter than Candies
by Meiko Atsushi
Summary: In which Murasakibara doesn't know why he can't think straight around Himuro, and Himuro tries to keep his poker face around the giant. Sweet MuraHimu Pairing. Set after Winter Cup.


**Summary: In which Murasakibara doesn't know why he can't think straight around Himuro, and Himuro tries to keep his poker face around the giant. Sweet MuraHimu Pairing. Set after Winter Cup.**

"Murasakibara Atsushi."

Silence. The teacher cleared his throat as if disturbed, furrowing his eyebrows and glaring at the purple haired giant that sat at the back of classroom without much option, because of his height. " _Murasakibara Atsushi_." He said a little louder, finally catching the attention of the male.

"Yes…" Murasakibara grumbled in his usual, slightly high, whiny voice. The teacher sighed heavily, massaging his temples as he held up his white piece of chalk, tapping the black board. "I said, please answer question nine over here." The purple haired male stood up, his shoulders hunched and his eyes looking bored as ever. He picked up a chalk and scanned the answer. It was Physics class – the class he was actually _good_ at. And yet, the question in front of him just seemed like a jumble of words, nothing else.

He put the chalk back down. "Sensei, I don't think I understand the question." Murasakibara said quietly, as the teacher raised an eyebrow – as he also knew, that Murasakibara might not excel in other subjects, but his Physics grade was quite worthy of being qualified. "Please concentrate more in class, Murasakibara-kun. Go sit." He called another person instead, as the giant went back to his long session of staring outside the window.

The bell rang a few minutes later, as the whole class exited the room in a moving crowd. Murasakibara was the last to step out as always, only because he hated to stand out amongst people – even though he already did. Himuro was waiting for him outside the classroom, a smile plastered over his pretty face. Murasakibara paused at the sight, his eyes widening at the very slightest.

"Atsushi, I heard from the teacher that you weren't concentrating in class?" The shooting guard smiled. "You should at least try paying more attention." He chastised in a gentle manner, as Murasakibara grunted. "Muro-chin interferes with my business too much. I think I never asked for two different moms…" He yawned, as Himuro chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets. "As a member of the Student Council, I do have the responsibility to look over students, after all."

The two bought their own respective lunches and sat down with the seniors of Yosen. Wei Liu was the first one on the table, followed by Okamura and Fukui. "Good afternoon, senpai." Himuro greeted, as the three nodded. "Are you studying well for the final exams?" Wei Liu nodded. "Pretty well. I'm aiming for the college in Beijing, after all." The other two avoided to look at the latter in the eye.

"Well… we both have no problem with subjects we are good at, but the other ones are just… yeah… they ain't working out, Himuro." The black haired male laughed in a comforting manner. "It'll work out, senpai." "You think?" Fukui rolled his head on the table. "Oh, and about the captain matter…" Murasakibara stopped listening to the conversation again, just like he did in class. Yosen's lunch was wonderful, but he didn't feel like eating this time. His face was feeling unnoticeably hot, and his heart was beating a little more faster than usual.

"Atsushi?"

He was awaken from his small trance, as Himuro called his name. "Are you alright? Your face is kind of red. Do you happen to not feel well?" The male's hand approached his forehead, and Murasakibara's eyes rounded a little, his heart beating even faster than before. He quickly pushed the hand away and stood up. "I'm going." He hurriedly grabbed his platter and walked towards the exit. "W-wait, Atsushi!" Himuro gathered his things and left.

"Hm…" Fukui supported his chin with his left hand, eyeing the Double Aces of Yosen. "Something is suspicious about those two nowadays, don't you think, captain?" He pointed at the closing door, as he glanced at Okamura and Wei Liu. "I always knew something was going on with those two ever since we lost against Seirin." The Chinese player took a bite on the fried chicken he was quite enjoying.

"This way or that, I'll be expecting some good news from those two before we graduate." Okamura grinned, his eyes closed. Fukui raised his right brow and shrugged. "Good news, huh…" He smirked. "Doesn't sound very easy."

Meanwhile, outside the cafeteria, Himuro was desperately trying to catch up with the fast pacing giant. "Atsushi, come on. What's wrong?" Murasakibara flinched nervously as Himuro grasped his arm. "… Nothing." The latter frowned, as Murasakibara remained silent afterwards. "Alright. I can't wait for you after school today, since I have some papers I need to sign for the Student Council. Is there anything else you need assistance with?" The giant shook his head, as Himuro put on a sullen expression. "Ok… meet you on Monday."

Later on, while Himuro was sitting on his own desk in the room for the Student Council, he was biting on his fingernails, looking at the clock. The image of one Murasakibara Atsushi swiftly passed through his mind, as his eyes widened. _Concentrate, concentrate…_ He went back to turn his attention on the papers, holding his pen up straight. "Gosh…" He groaned and stretched his arms.

"Himuro-kun." The female member sitting next to him spoke up. "If you aren't feeling well, then you should go home. Pushing yourself hinders the progress of completion in you overall duties." Himuro smiled. "No, I'm fine. I was just dazing off, that is. Don't worry too much – I won't be a hindrance." The girl nodded, as she went back to sign her own stacks of papers.

When he was done, he stepped out of the room, biding luck to the members that were halfway finished. He turned on his phone, and went to his list of numbers. Going past the numbers of his seniors, Alex and Kagami, there was Murasakibara. He stopped his thumb midair, wondering whether he should call the purple head or not. _He'll think I'm acting like a possessive, irritating mom. Yeah, I'll just text him tonight or ask him on Monday…_ Himuro reluctantly slipped his phone back into his uniform pocket, opening the door to his bedroom in the dorms.

The shooting guard's small room was neat, simple, and clean – something that was hard to find from a male high school student living alone (Midorima and Akashi being quite the exceptions). On his drawer there was a group club photograph of Yosen, the one he took with Murasakibara after the match of Seirin and Rakuzan outside the stadium, and two different photos with only Murasakibara in it. Himuro smirked – if someone came into his room, they would immediately gain two facts – one, Himuro Tatsuya was a clean high school student, and second, he was particularly obsessed with this tall purple haired boy that was everywhere.

"Let me see… homework..." He swiftly looked through his bag, and took out his math worksheets and biology workbooks. "Question eight…" He held up his pen and started working through the list of problems and equations. The face of Murasakibara kept on slowing him down, but he could deal with it. Himuro tapped his pen on the desk impatiently. He closed his eyes and heaved a light sigh. "I guess this can come later."

Murasakibara, on the other hand, was texting with one Kuroko Tetsuya, the former phantom sixth man of Teiko.

 _ **From: Me**_

 _ **To: Kuroko Tetsuya**_

 _ **Kuro-chin, I have something I need to ask you.**_

A quick response was delivered after a few seconds.

 _ **Re: Kuroko Tetsuya**_

 _ **Any time, Murasakibara-kun. What is it?**_

Murasakibara hesitated.

 _ **Re: Me**_

 _ **I think about Muro-chin a lot, lately. I can't concentrate in class, and when he holds my hand my face turns red and my heart beats faster. He looks… good and better than usual, and I don't know why.**_

That was probably the longest thing Murasakibara typed in a text message, for sure. After a few minutes, Kuroko answered.

 _ **Re: Kuroko Tetsuya**_

 _ **That is what often people call a feeling of 'love', Murasakibara-kun. By Muro-chin, I am assuming you are talking about Himuro-kun from Yosen? Well, if you feel like that around him, Murasakibara-kun, it can only mean that you have a crush on him. You're in love, to simply say.**_

Now, Murasakibara didn't know how to respond to that. The closest he ever got to the feeling of love, was firstly, when he found a really delicious kind of chips exported from America. Secondly, when he was around his siblings – when they cared for him, he presumed that was what people called 'love', or a 'bond'. It was true, that Himuro wasn't the same as his favorite flavor of sweets. But Murasakibara realized, that he liked Himuro more than he liked his snacks.

 _ **Re: Me**_

 _ **Then what am I supposed to do, Kuro-chin?**_

Murasakibara didn't know whether Kuroko would know the answer, but he was sure – among the people he knew, the teal haired boy would give the most reasonable answers. There was Midorima and Akashi of course, but Murasakibara didn't really want to discuss his love life with the two of them.

 _ **Re: Kuroko Tetsuya**_

 _ **Confess, I suppose. It doesn't need to be right now, but it would be better for you and for him to just let it out. And besides, the last time I saw the both of you, Himuro-kun seemed to be really fond of your presence. I can't guarantee that he'll return your feelings, but I don't see the reason why he wouldn't either.**_

Murasakibara felt a little better after reading Kuroko's message. He replied with a short thanks, and put his phone down. _It's Saturday tomorrow…_ For one of the first times in his whole life, Murasakibara Atsushi was attempting to think hard. He sat up on his bed, and texted Himuro.

 _ **From: Me**_

 _ **To: Himuro Tatsuya**_

 _ **Muro-chin, tomorrow I'm going over to your place.**_

He didn't even bother to read Himuro's response, and threw his phone on the bed. His door opened, as his sister entered. "Atsushi, mom is telling you to come down for dinner." She paused. "You look delighted, Atsushi – did someone send you a box of chocolate or something?" Murasakibara stepped out of his room and closed the door. "… Something better." He replied, as his sister put on a look of disbelief.

The following morning, Himuro was freaking out. It was a nice thing that he had cleaned his room the night before, and bought extra snacks for the giant (even though he always had emergency ones, just in case). He didn't really need to go over what he was wearing – that wasn't exactly important. The fact that the purple head was actually going to come over was important. Sure, this wasn't the first time Murasakibara had visited the dorms to see Himuro, but he never blurted out of nowhere that he was going to come over to his place. They usually discussed the matter at school, arranging plans for studying.

But never this.

Himuro recalled his reaction to the text message yesterday – how he stared at the screen for about five minutes with his mouth hanging open, and his fingers dancing on the screen the next – only that Murasakibara never replied. The raven glanced around his room, to give it a last check. When he was sure that nothing was out of order, he sat down on his bed and patiently waited. Murasakibara was slow, but he usually kept his word, after all.

A lazy knock was heard after what seemed to be about ten minutes. "Muro-chin?" Himuro stood up and opened the door. The giant was standing in the corridor, wearing a navy blue jacket, a magenta T-shirt, and jeans. Himuro greeted him with the usual smile we managed to afford. "Hello, Atsushi. Come in." He turned around and entered the room, as Murasakibara followed, closing the door behind them.

"I did buy some chips yesterday, thinking you'd need it – what flavor do you want?" Murasakibara looked thoughtful as always. "Seaweed." He responded, as Himuro nodded. He poured a cup of apple juice into two cups, and grabbed a bag of seaweed flavored chips from the cabinet. They sat down on the floor, around a small rectangular table at the side of the room, next to the bed.

"So, Atsushi," Himuro started the conversation, breaking the rather unnecessary silence. "What brings you here today so suddenly? It surely isn't our regular routine, to inform me without discussion." The latter shrugged. "I wanted to talk to Muro-chin, that's all." Himuro's heart skipped a beat, as the male tried his best to keep his calm. "Oh?" Murasakibara remained quiet for the next few minutes.

"Muro-chin, do you like someone?" Of course, Himuro knew the real meaning of the question – but he pretended to be oblivious. "I like a lot of people, Atsushi. Alex, Taiga, and all the upperclassmen of Yosen can be an excellent example." The purple head leaned on the wall and shook his head. "I mean like… the kind of favoritism that can also be called… uh, love." Himuro almost wanted to pull Murasakibara into a small hug, seeing how difficult he looked while trying to explain 'love'. "Who do you love, Muro-chin?"

Himuro knew the answer. _It's you,_ his mind echoed, as his inner emotions roared. "I won't tell you, Atsushi. It's quite a private matter, after all." Murasakibara pouted. "Is she in our school?" Himuro chuckled. "Yes, but I never said that person was a girl, Atsushi." Murasakibara blinked, as if trying to comprehend the male's words. He didn't talk for a while, and Himuro decided it was his turn again to break the silence.

"Then who do you love, Atsushi?" Murasakibara seemed startled at the fact that Himuro actually asked. "Well… someone." The raven frowned. "More hints?" The center of Yosen hummed a little. "It's a he." Himuro nodded, not sure whether that was supposed to be unexpected or not. "… He likes basketball a lot." The shooting guard tilted his head to the side. "Is he good?" Murasakibara nodded, and Himuro came to a decision that that person must be _really_ good – Murasakibara didn't acknowledge the talents of others that easily.

"Is it Akashi-kun?" Himuro suggested, as Murasakibara frowned. "Aka-chin is too… hard to approach. And I'm not sure Aka-chin likes basketball as much as this person." The raven sighed. "Why not just give about five more hints?" Murasakibara popped a potato chip into his mouth.

"He's a year older than me."

 _A senior, huh…_ Himuro thought.

"He goes to our school."

 _That's odd, I don't know anyone who likes basketball outstandingly in our grade…_

"He looks… pretty."

Himuro tilted his head to the side. A pretty looking boy that likes basketball and is actually good at it, being the same age as him…

"He used to go to school in America."

Himuro froze. His eyes wide, he stared at Murasakibara, who was still expressionless.

"Atsushi-"

"He is in front me right now." Murasakibara ended, with a shocked Himuro sitting in awe. "I love you, Muro-chin." _He said it. He said it – he definitely did._ Himuro's mind was trying to process this information all at once, his body still unmoving and still. "How about Muro-chin?" Murasakibara moved closer, pushing the table out of the way. Himuro's heart was beating so fast, that he was almost sure that his chest could burst any moment.

"Atsushi- I-" Himuro felt his face burning into the shade of red. This wasn't the first time he received a proposal or anything of course – but this time, it was different. His eyes widened even more, when Murasakibara pulled him into an embrace. The giant's arms were big and long, enough to cover all of Himuro's upper torso and face. "So, Muro-chin," Murasakibara whispered. "Do you love me?" Himuro inhaled the sweet scent of Murasakibara and closed his eyes.

"Yes." He said. "Yes… I love you." Murasakibara's shoulders relaxed, as if he was relieved – in which he was. The purple head pushed Himuro to the wall and kissed the shooting guard – who happily kissed back. As the lips made contact the feelings grew – and when they parted lips, they gathered some breath and kissed again – this time rougher.

"I love you Muro-chin." Murasakibara mumbled, still hugging Himuro towards the wall. Himuro smiled.

"I love you too, Atsushi."

That very day, Murasakibara learned – in this world, there was something that was actually sweeter than candies.

 **End.**

 **My second one-shot of Kuroko no Basket. After I wrote "I Loved You, That was All", my AkaKuro one-shot – I realized, there was just too less MuraHimu fanfics – when that's basically my OTP throughout the whole series. So here it is, my MuraHimu fanfic.**

 **This story was originally made for my own satisfaction, but I am glad if any of you guys out there enjoyed it as well. I might write another one related to Murasakibara or Himuro having a fever, but I'm not entirely sure.**

 **I hope you guys liked it.**

 **~Meiko~**


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